Creative Family Fun

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Learning Activities for Kids

Art & Writing Corner

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There are so many wonderful and inspiring play and learning spaces all over the Web.

Some are large taking up entire rooms and while wonderful, that’s just not realistic for my family.

So, when Lizzie started showing a lot of interest in both writing and drawing, I knew I wanted to set up an area that she could go to and have plenty of materials at her disposal.

A lot of my inspiration for this area came from Mariah Bruehl and her blog Playful Learning. Her writing caddy was foremost on my mind while creating this space.

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We had a small, unused cabinet that I moved to a sunny corner of our living room.

The girls’ table is set up next to the cabinets. Then, I gathered baskets, boxes, empty cans, and plenty of art and writing supplies.

The purple basket is full of all kinds of paper. Plain paper, lined paper, old stationary, colored paper, and even a few coloring pages. In addition to the various types of paper, I also made sure there were different sizes as well.

Then, I set out our box of crayons, markers, colored pencils, and recycled muffin tin crayons.

We have an A,B,C stencil book I found at our library’s book sale that I added to the area. I also included a cup with a few more stencils, a pencil sharpener, and glue sticks.

This is an independent area that the girls can use anytime they want.

It’s also in an area of our house that we spend the most time in, which was very important to me.

Now the girls are able to draw, color, or write anytime it strikes their fancy. And, I have piles and piles of drawings to attest to how much they use this area!

A learning space doesn’t have to be large or expensive to set up.

It could be a small corner of a room or it could even be portable in a basket or bin. But, it’s a wonderful way to encourage a budding interest in your child!

Do you have any special learning or play spaces in your home?

Building Blocks and Math Fun

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When I picked up the book Jack the Builder (MathStart 1) by Stuart J. Murphy at the library, I didn’t expect to have so much fun with it.

We learned a new math concept, counting on, while playing with blocks. It doesn’t get any better than that!

Jack the Builder is part of the MathStart 1 series of books.

This is a series that teaches kids about basic math concepts through stories. The book we chose talked about counting on, an early step to addition.

If you have three blocks then add two more, start counting from 3 then 4, 5. You have 5 blocks.

Jack kept adding more and more blocks all the while encouraging the reader to add with him.

What really got my girls excited was Jack’s imagination.

He didn’t just build simple towers with blocks, he built hot dog stands, boats, and rockets.

We were encouraged to get out our blocks and see what we could build.

We played and talked about math for an entire afternoon.

We built towers, circus trains, and village by the sea.

We built wide structures and high structures.

We had a competition to see who could build the highest tower.

All the while, we were counting, adding, and subtracting. This was the perfect way to learn a little about math!

Do you have any sneaky ideas for teaching math skills?

10 Ways to Learn About Weather

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It seems that kids have an endless fascination for weather.

And why not? It’s always around them, easy to experiment with, and always fun to learn about.

Here are 10 ways to learn about weather and have fun at the same time!

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1. Experiment with the wind. What is wind? How does it feel? Pretend to blow in the wind. Go outside on a windy day. Fly a kite if the day is nice. Or, become the wind yourself like Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas shows in this fun wind experiment, Can the Wind Move It.

2. Make a rain gauge and measure the rain. Greening Sam and Avery shows you how to make this simple rain gauge.

(via Greening Sam and Avery)

3. Make a tornado. Try the classic tornado in a bottle experiment. You’ll need to round up two 2-liter bottles for the trick, but it’s definitely fun! Weather Wiz Kids has a wonderful explanation of how to do this experiment.

4. Make a rainbow and learn all the colors in a rainbow. Search for one after a rain and then make your own. Draw one, paint one, or make a collage. Did you know you can even make one show up on the back of a cd if you hold it up in the sunlight? Check out this post from Buggy and Buddy to find out how.

5. Make it rain in your own kitchen. Yes you can, and it won’t make a mess either. Sense of Wonder shows you how.

6. Learn about temperature and experiment with hot and cold using ice. Place ice in different areas, in the sunlight for a warm area and in the refrigerator for a cold area, and see how long it takes to melt. Science Sparks shows you a fun example of this experiment with melting ice.

7. Read a book about weather. There are tons of books written for any reading level. Check the selection at your library and find a few. The nonfiction selection is usually quite large. A great choice is Weather Words and What They Mean by Gail Gibbons. Or, you can find a fiction choice in which weather is the main subject and use the story to further conversation about the weather. The Storm Book by Charlotte Zolotow is a great fiction choice to get you talking about the weather.

8. Make a fun chart and chart the weather everyday. Warm Hot Chocolate shows you how to make this adorable weather dial.

(via Warm Hot Chocolate)

9. Make your own DIY weather station and learn to collect data. Kitchen Counter Chronicles shows you how to make your own simple backyard weather station.

10. Learn about clouds and create some of your own. What are the different types of clouds and what do they look like. Then get crafty and make your own clouds like we did! The Cloud Book by Tomie de Paola is a great reference for learning about clouds.

*Bonus Activity: Experience the weather! Play in the rain, throw snowballs, or soak up the sun. Why is weather so much fun to learn about? Because, it’s so easy to experience!

***While researching this post, I came across a wonderful website, Weather Wiz Kids, designed to teach kids about weather. It was created by a meteorologist and provides lots of fun activities, experiments, and information. If you and your kids are interested in learning about weather, this is the perfect site to check out! ***

Have you done any fun activities about the weather?

You May Also Like:

Sun and Rain Sensory Bottles

10 Ways to Play with Snow

Raindrop Mobiles

Making Umbrellas

Shape Hunt

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How many circles can you find in your house? Can you find some hidden triangles?

Learning about shapes can be so much fun. It lends itself so well to hands-on activities.

Recently, we went on a shape hunt throughout out house and had an absolute blast hunting for hidden shapes.

This shape activity was easy to set up and it was a great way to sneak a little learning into our fun.

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How to Set-Up:

Before playing, I took four index cards and drew a different shape on each.

You can do as many or as few shapes as you want.

I chose to use four basic shapes: rectangle, square, triangle, and circle.

How to play:

Shuffle the cards and spread them out shape side down.

Have your kids take turns turning over a card.

The first child draws a card and everyone runs off to look for examples of that shape. Once you find something come back to the collection area.

Small items can be brought to the collection area, larger item can just be written down on the card.

See how many examples of each shape your kids can find!

Once you’re finished with one shape, pick another card and get searching again!

Looking for triangles was challenging for us but, we did end up finding quite a few examples.

Some of the triangles the girls found were quite creative, such as our dog’s ears and the tip of a pencil.

Circles were everywhere, even on our own bodies (our heads)!

We found quite a few large examples for rectangle, such as the walls, doors, and the fish tank.

Even though we found a lot of squares, my oldest still wanted to make her own. She took her scissors and cut a piece of paper into a square to add to our pile.

We had a lot of fun with our shape hunt and it was a great way to get moving indoors. I’m sure we’ll be playing this game again and again and again!

Go on a shape hunt around the house. This is such a fun preschool or toddler activity.

Find more shape activities here:

Get Crafty: Shape Collages

Go Outside: Driveway Shape Maze

Sewing Circles: Simple Shapes to Sew

10 Shape Activities for Toddlers at Hands On As We Grow

Water Play for Toddlers

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Over the weekend, I set up a water play station for AJ.

I laid out a bowl full of water, a few empty containers, and  scoops, spoons and dippers. I placed the containers in a baking dish in the hope to contain some of the water.

Yes, I did set out glass containers for my toddler. I planned on sitting with her the entire time, so I knew that wouldn’t cause a problem.

She was eager to begin once she saw the set-up. She grabbed a measuring cup right away and started scooping.

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She spent a lot of time at the beginning transferring water from one container to another.

She scooped and poured and scooped and poured.

She tested the limits of the containers to see just how much water she could get in one and then enjoyed watching the water flow over the edges.

At one point, she even tried to see if she could pick the water up with her hands. That didn’t work!

And then, she tried pouring…  oh dear!

We had a lot of fun, soaked a few towels, and had to completely change AJ’s clothes.

Nonetheless, I’m sure we’ll do this again! Although, the next time, I may just lug all the (plastic) containers into the bathtub.